Two samples were successfully collected by The Perseverance rover from Mars. The rock from which samples were collected is nicknamed as Rochette.

 

What is Perseverance rover

According to Wikipedia, "Perseverance, nicknamed Percy,[2] is a car-sized Mars rover designed to explore the Jezero crater on Mars as part of NASA's Mars 2020 mission. It was manufactured by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and launched on July 30, 2020, at 11:50 UTC.[3] Confirmation that the rover successfully landed on Mars was received on February 18, 2021, at 20:55 UTC.[4][5] As of 19 December 2022, Perseverance has been active on Mars for 650 sols (669 Earth days, or 1 year, 10 months and 1 day) since its landing. Following the rover's arrival, NASA named the landing site Octavia E. Butler Landing."

 

The process of sample collection

On September 7, the rover drilled a hole on the left side of the rock. The hole is named Montagnac. On September 1 another hole on the right side of the rock. It is named Montdenier. It collected the samples from those holes.

 

The process being continued

According to  CNN, "Perseverance isn't letting any dust gather under its wheels. The rover is about to build the first depot on another world as it drops a collection of rock and dust samples on the Martian surface.

These samples are part of a matching set that will remain stowed on the rover — and either cache could be the collection that makes its way back to Earth in 2033 through the Mars Sample Return program.

The rover is also plotting a course up the steep bank of an ancient river delta and will begin studying the intriguing material there in February.

While Perseverance was investigating Jezero Crater on Mars in 2021, a towering whirlwind of dust passed right over it. The rover's microphone happened to be turned on at the time, and the robotic explorer captured the eerie sounds in an audio recording released this week."

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